Girl injured on Ferris wheel at St. Joan festival

Brendan Jones and Kevin Ellis, along with Mike Coletti and his daughter, Elaina, wait in line to ride the Ferris wheel Sunday at the St. Joan of Arc Spring Festival in St. Clair Shores. (Macomb Daily photo by David Angell)

The Ferris wheel at a church festival in St. Clair Shores was temporarily closed after a girl riding it was struck in the head by a bolt that came loose from the ride, according to the carnival operator.

The incident happened Friday at the annual St. Joan of Arc Spring Festival when the bolt hit the girl and opened a cut. She was not seriously injured, said Blake Huston, general manager for North American Midway Entertainment, the company that owns the amusement parks used at the festival.

“She was bleeding, so they cleaned her up, put a bandage on it and she was fine,” Huston said. “We gave her family some free ride passes because I’m sure it ruined her day.”

St. Clair Shores fire Battalion Chief Michael Witt confirmed a fire crew was called to the Ferris wheel to treat the girl for the head wound. Her age was not available as officials would only say she was a minor who was with her family.

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The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs -- which conducts inspections of approximately 600 transient carnivals a year traveling through the state -- was closed for the weekend but carnival operators said all of the rides were reviewed by both state inspectors and the company’s inspectors before it opened to the public on Friday.

After the mishap occurred, the midway company shut down the Ferris wheel ride and contacted a state inspector. Once the bolt was secured, the state and midway inspector again reviewed the ride’s operations before re-opening it Friday evening, Huston said.

State rules mandate the company to fill out a personal injury report and an equipment breakdown report. The department also requires specifications for all bolts, pins, weld or other connections for new rides, state regulations show. However, since North American Midway has provided the carnival rides at St. Joan for more than 25 years, it wasn’t clear if the state would have been provided that information.

Huston said it wasn’t clear how the bolt came loose and fell, especially since a cap covers the ride compartment patrons sit in during the wheel’s operation.

“It is very rare, which is why it’s called an accident,” Huston said. “The chances of that happening are miniscule. But this company is all about safety. The back of our T-shirts have the motto ‘Think Safety,’ so we are taking this very seriously. My kids ride these rides, so we absolutely believe they are safe for the public.”

City records show North American held a $10 million liability insurance for the festival.

North American Midway Entertainment bills itself as the “world’s largest traveling outdoor amusement park” on its website, adding the company provides a “safe midway experience” to more than 15 million fair-goers every year in 20 states and four Canadian provinces, including 10 of the top 50 fairs in North America.

The company has had a pair of employee deaths in recent years, according to published reports.

In 2008, the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the midway company after a worker was crushed by a counterweight on the last day of fair while taking measurements on a ride called “The Inverter” while the ride was in motion, according to a website operated by North Carolina Workers Compensation Lawyers. North American Midway was fined $5,000, which was reduced to $2,000 in appeal.

Two years later, a worker was electrocuted while working on a ride called “The Rainbow” at the South Carolina State Fair. The disposition of that OSHA probe was not immediately available.

David Kesner, secretary for the St. Joan of Arc Spring Festival, declined to comment Sunday, referring a reporter to Monsignor G. Michael Bugarin. Bugarin was unavailable for comment, organizers said.

On Sunday, the last day of the festival, Jim Pappars said he was aware of the incident as he took two of his daughters on the Ferris wheel. He said he had “a little concern” about the ride’s safety but felt it was secure enough to go on.

“I’ve been to this company’s rides at Cedar Point and other festivals,” he said. “We’ve never had any problem. You never know when something like that is going to happen.”